The Administrative Core guides and supervises the overall Program Project research effort. The Director has ultimate responsibility for supervision of Program Project activities. The Director is assisted by the Co-Director and information Specialist. An important function of the Core is to organize and schedule bi-monthly meetings of all Program Project personnel, and maintain written records of these meetings. Frequent meetings documented with reports presented by Project and Core Leaders ensure that all projects are meeting Program goals. Project and Core Leaders meet separately once a month to discuss progress, trouble-shoot scientific or technical issues and make policy decisions. Electronic records of all group meetings are available to Program personnel through a Program Project web page (www.ppg.msu.edu). The Administrative Core communicates with the Internal and External Advisory Committees. These committees monitor Program Project research progress and provide evaluations and critiques of the group effort. They also assist the Director in developing solutions to any research-related problems that may arise. The Administrative Core is responsible for monitoring Program expenditures, including travel by Project Leaders, and routine bookkeeping. In addition, all publications arising from Program Project-funded research are processed through the Administrative Core. Finally, this Core handles assembly and submission of annual progress reports. These latter administrative tasks are the primary responsibilities of the Information Specialist, who makes use Program Project computer hardware and software resources.